Destination: Michigan
Book: Traveling Michigan’s Sunset Coast: Exploring Michigan’s West Coast Beach Towns – from New Buffalo to Mackinaw City,(2007) by Julie Royce
A Guest Post by Dr. Jessie Voigts
I am particularly pleased to have Dr. Jessie Voigts of Wandering Educators bring us this book and this author, since the subject is home territory for Voigts. It always gives more credibility to a guidebook when a resident of the area approves it.
This is an incredible resource for west Michigan residents and visitors – a complete description of places to eat, stay, and visit while traveling the sunset coast. I looked up many of my favorite restaurants, and indeed, they were listed and recommended – as well as many that I had never heard of before!
The first part of the book is a resource guide, while the second half provides a history of Michigan, including ghost sightings, ship wrecks, lighthouses, sand dunes, and legends. This is a fantastic travel guide to a lovely part of the United States. Julie also has a guidebook to Michigan’s thumb region. I was able to sit down with Julie and interview her…
Wandering Educators: What led you to do these guidebooks?
Julie Royce: I took an early out retirement from the State of Michigan where I had worked as a First Assistant Attorney General in the Workers’ Compensation Division. Jennifer Granholm had been my boss for a while back when she was Attorney General. After retirement my husband and I moved to Lexington, Michigan and bought a condo just three blocks from where I was born.
During our first summer here Ms. Granholm (then governor) gave a speech at a local restaurant and I went to hear her and to have the chance to see my prior boss. Part of her pitch that day was that we really need to promote our state and she talked about all the Thumb area had to offer.
After she left that evening I was thinking about what she said and decided she was right. It is beautiful here in Lexington. I decided to write Traveling Michigan’s Thumb. It became kind of a joke among my friends as I was writing it: “After the first two pages what are you going to say?” In truth, I found plenty to write about. We have several cute little towns, lots of beautiful water, a slow pace of living and great people.
W. E.: Tell us about some of the characters you met, while doing this research…
J. R.: One of the true pleasures of writing the book was the people I met along the way. Certainly the west side of the state had its characters – that’s why I included a chapter on the famous, infamous and notorious with Lake Michigan ties. Unfortunately I did not get to meet Ernest Hemingway, Carl Sandburg, or Al Capone. I really would have loved to meet Magdelaine LaFramboise.
The people I did meet were generally just friendly people willing to tell me about their towns. I did have an interesting experience in Petoskey. I went into a gift store and a customer walked up to the register where I was talking to the owner about her shop. I moved aside so a “paying customer” could take care of business. The customer said, “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, are you writing a book?” I told her I was and I explained I had done one earlier called Traveling Michigan’s Thumb and this was my second book. She surprised me by telling me she bought Traveling Michigan’s Thumb at the Victorian Emporium in Lexington, a few blocks from where I live. Small world!
You can read more of the interview, in the book review section of Wandering Educators. Dr. Jessie Voigts is the Publisher of WanderingEducators.com and contributes each month to A Traveler’s Library. She has a doctorate in International Education, and is passionate about intercultural learning. She and her husband are Worldschooling their daughter, and enjoying every minute of it. She is also a nature photographer and lives on a lake.
Thanks Jessie, for bringing us a book so appropriate for our road trip. Look for a stop in Michigan later this year. And, dear reader, if you would like to read more here about Michigan here are three suggestions.
Although I’ve never been to Michigan- I’ve met so many people from Michigan (while I was in Ghana)- and it has made me want to go there. The people are so wonderful, I know the place will be equally so.
Another book to add to my ever growing list…now if I can just add a few more hours in my day so I can get through my reading list. 🙂
thanks so much for sharing this great book, vera! i love it – and LOVE to share our beautiful state of michigan. there’s truly nothing like it.
.-= jessiev hopes you will read blog ..Porchetta Passion in Central Italy =-.
I have never been to Michigan, but have always heard good things from friends who went to grad school in Ann Arbor. I was struck by Julie Royce’s remark that one of the pleasures of writing the book was the people met along the way. Friendly people. This reminded me of Wisconsin, a neighboring state, where I have been, and where everyone we met was open to conversation. Quite different from strangers in New England!
.-= Alexandra hopes you will read blog ..Do You Support the "Spraying Program"? =-.
Jessie: The thanks go to you for bringing this to our attention, and adding your local expertise.
And Alexandra and Anjuli, as one who comes from Ohio, I have to say that all the mid-western states are pretty freindly, but the west and southwest probably out-howdy them, even.